Mining as heritage? Conservation, extraction, and the shifting purposes of protected areas in Namibia

By linking heritage with socio-economic development, UNESCO Global Geoparks expand the boundaries of conservation to explicitly integrate human societies and their activities. In Namibia, the Gondwanaland Geopark project - initiated in 2005 in a territory where mining is pervasive - offers a pioneering case. This article examines the strategies through which diverse stakeholders seek to legitimise mining as part of heritage-making, while also interrogating how conservation policies are being reshaped under the growing pressure of mineral extraction. After situating geoparks within a global framework, the analysis turns to Namibia, drawing on fieldwork conducted in the proposed geopark territory. The study combines semi-structured interviews with representatives from national and governmental institutions, tourism stakeholders, artisanal miners, and UNESCO members, alongside participant observation and the collection of grey literature. Together, these sources provide a systemic perspective on how conservation frameworks can be reconfigured to accommodate extractive practices.